SANTA CLARA COUNTY / Ex-Cop Could Be Hit With More Conduct Charges

Palo Alto -- A former Palo Alto police officer accused of fondling two women could face additional criminal charges, according to the head of the Palo Alto Police Department.

Police presented the Santa Clara County district attorney's office with new evidence Wednesday that former Agent Luis Verbera may have molested three other women, Chief Pat Dwyer said yesterday.

Only two of the three new allegations, however, appeared to involve criminal violations, Dwyer said. The third, if proved, would have constituted an administrative violation, but not necessarily a crime, he added.

According to Dwyer, the alleged incidents took place in October 1996 and January 1999. Dwyer, who said the criminal investigation is now complete, declined to give details about the new allegations.

The district attorney's office yesterday declined to comment about the police reports.

"It brings the total to four of them that we expect to be criminally charged," Dwyer said. "There's a fifth that didn't meet the threshold for criminal prosecution but probably would have been addressed internally."

Verbera, 34, was arrested March 12 on two charges of sexual battery after two women reported that he had fondled them under the guise of searching them for drugs and weapons.

One woman told investigators that Verbera fondled her while she sat handcuffed in the back of his squad car. Another reported that he touched her breasts and genital area in the Police Department garage.

A nine-year veteran and former sex crimes investigator, Verbera resigned March 24. He is scheduled to be arraigned April 28.